Two Princes
by Pride of a Saiyan
Summary: OMG. I am SO sorry that I never updated this one anymore. I stopped writing for about two years and kind of... HUM. forgot about the fic. My deepest, sincerest apologies to all my faithful readers & reviewers. Did I mention I was sorry?
1. Prologue

**Two Princes**

_**Prologue**_

I was sitting at my husband's computer, playing Prince of Persia – Warrior Within. My own computer's video card couldn't handle the game, so I had to use the other computer.

The prince had arrived at the end of the game, and I tried as hard as I could to beat Kaileena, but she was too strong. I growled at her, knowing perfectly well she couldn't hear me.

"Die, bitch. I want to know how the game ends."

My fingers abused the keyboard, but to no avail. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration when the prince died again at her hands.

"Not again…"

Suddenly the screen went completely white.

"What the…"

I was hit by a tremendous force, throwing me out of my chair. Darkness took over and I lost consciousness.

I came to with a mind-blowing headache. Groaning, I opened my eyes. My surroundings looked oddly familiar, and the voice I heard was familiar too:

"Finally awake, I see."

Towering over me was the prince himself. I recognized the environment… Some power had transferred me into the game.

"Impossible…" I whispered. "You can't be real."

"You'd better believe I'm real, woman." His pale eyes burned right into my own. I crawled away from him until my back was to the wall.

"It's just a _game,_" I said, still not believing what I saw.

The prince made a dismissive gesture.

"In your world it may be, but in here, we're real."

My brains slowly regained their function as I realized how horrifying that was, if it was true.

"You mean…"

"Every time someone plays the game, I'm used for the sheer purpose of entertainment. You _humans_ don't give a shit whether I get hurt or die. You don't have the slightest comprehension of what it's like to be me." He clenched his fists at his sides, trembling with rage.

"I have died countless times at your hands," he growled. "Do you have any idea what death feels like, woman? And not just once, but over and over again?"

"I don't…" My body started to tremble as well, but with fear. "Wh… what do you want from me?"

"You are my ticket out of here. On your feet, woman, we have little time."

I got up, noticing that I wasn't wearing my regular clothes. Apparently I had become my game counterpart, which meant that I wore only a skirt and a short top.

'Not even shoes… Great,' I said to myself.

"Wait a second," I called out to the prince's back. He was already moving without looking back.

"Is the Dahaka still around?"

"Of course he is. You never killed him, did you?"

"I didn't… Shit!"

In order to fight the Dahaka, you had to retrieve get all the life bonuses. I was still working on it, but hadn't succeeded yet. It was too late now.

I followed the prince, knowing I wouldn't stand a chance on my own.


	2. Forced Companions

_**Chapter 1 – Forced Companions**_

We moved in silence for a long time. Meanwhile, thousands of thoughts crossed my mind.

I had observed the prince while playing the game, but meeting him in person was quite different. He terrified me with his burning eyes… The look in his eyes when he explained to me what his 'life' was like showed me that he really hated me and everything I represented. I couldn't blame him, it must have been and still be hell for him to be on this quest. For eternity. Trapped in here forever.

The prince interrupted my musings, halting in front of me. He turned around and asked me, his voice dripping with sarcasm:

"Do you think you're up for it?"

He was referring to the chasm up ahead. Spikes outlined the bottom, dried blood of less fortunate adventurers on them.

Considering my options, I looked at the chasm and then back at him. I decided to go down proudly. Sarcasm was one of my strong points.

"Show me how it's done, prince. After all, you're the star of the game." I smiled at him coldly.

Without a word, he turned around and ran along the wall, reaching the other side safely. He moved on, not bothering to wait.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered under my breath. I took a deep breath and started running. To my own surprise, I reached the other side, defying some basic gravity rules in the process.

'I'm in the game, so I can move the same way he does. Pretty cool…' I thought. I caught up with him, pleased with myself.

"Where the hell are we going anyway?" I asked.

"To find Kaileena," he said.

"You lost track of her?"

"That damn Dahaka is after her as well. Something changed recently and Kaileena lost control over it. I haven't got a clue why, but I'm very determined to stop that creature for good."

"You can't kill that thing. If Kaileena can't even control it, what makes you think you can?"

He shrugged as if he didn't care.

"I've got an eternity left to try and kill that thing. Why wouldn't I succeed? After all, I'm the star of the game." He looked at me sharply, and I averted my eyes.

"What the hell do you need me for then? All I do is slow you down."

A weird sound emerged from him and I didn't recognize it. Then I realized he was laughing.

"Stop trying to talk your way out of this, woman, it's pathetic. The reason you're here, is that Kaileena and I want to get out of this dump. We're tired of running around in circles all the time."

"And how is my presence here going to contribute?" Images of blood sacrifices and worse went through my head.

"You'll see."

I stopped dead in my tracks, feeling very indignant.

"No way! I'm not moving another inch until you tell me what you're going to do to me!"

"Fine. Then experience what it's like to be devoured by the Dahaka."

He walked off. I listened until I couldn't hear his footsteps any more.

Alone. In monster's paradise. Goddamn it, what did I get myself into? Tears welled up in my eyes. This was ridiculous. I'd rather die at the claws of the Dahaka than at the hands of Kaileena or the prince.

"Fuck this…" I sobbed. Maybe, if I died here, I'd be warped back into the real world.

Suddenly, I heard noises from the direction we came from. It wasn't the Dahaka; a group of common monsters approached.

My pride revolted when I considered dying at their hands. I knew I wouldn't do that. Too painful. From the looks of the prince, he was pretty traumatized by all his former injuries and deaths. I got up and took off as fast as I could.


	3. One cannot change Fate

_**Chapter 3 – One cannot change Fate**_

The prince, not impressed by time traveling anymore, stomped off immediately. Visibly irritated, he turned his head and shouted: "Damn it woman, _move!_ You're wasting precious time!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I muttered under my breath. "Jeez, lighten up."

He increased his pace every time I caught up with him. Small drops of sweat were forming on his forehead.

I was too afraid to ask him what the hell was going on. But as soon as the colors of our environment began to change, I realized what was approaching us.

"Holy shit! The Dahaka!" I slowed down, only to be grabbed by my wrist and be dragged along by the prince once again.

"It's not the Dahaka that worries me," the prince growled.

I finally understood that the Dahaka wasn't after us, but after Kaileena. She had to be out there, running as fast as she could trying to escape the guardian of the Timeline.

The prince stopped, yanking me aside. "Get up there," he commanded and pointed to a few ledges that led to a hidden platform.

I climbed up there and hid in the shadows, closely watching the prince. What in God's name was he going to do? Standing there, awaiting the empress and the Dahaka, was suicide. Or was that his intention? To die at the hands of the Dahaka, so that Kaileena could escape? It made no sense. Kaileena was a game character too; she should be able to respawn as well, even if the Dahaka caught her.

Then it dawned on me. She couldn't respawn. She wasn't a playable character, she never had the ability to 'save her game'. If the Dahaka caught her, it would be over and she'd never be able to return.

The prince had drawn his swords as soon as the ground started to shake. Kaileena emerged from the dust and falling rocks, running like a hunted rabbit.

"To the water, Kaileena!" he cried when she ran past him. "He won't be able to follow you there!"

The prince stood his ground, facing the terrible creature in front of him.

"You cannot have her," he growled.

The Dahaka made an angry sound, shrieking like a wounded grizzly bear. His tentacles lashed out to the fading form of the empress, but the prince chopped them off. More shrieks emitted from the Dahaka, then it stomped towards the prince and smashed him out of its way. The prince hit the wall with a sickening smack.

The Dahaka ran after Kaileena, who reached the waterfall in time and ran through it. Time seemed to stop when I saw the Dahaka reach through the water without getting harmed. He grabbed Kaileena and consumed her. Tears ran down my face when I saw the Dahaka turn around and approach the unconscious form of the prince.

"No," I hissed angrily. "This is not _fair!_" I jumped down and quickly picked up the prince's weapons.

"You son of a bitch," I cried in despair. "You shouldn't be able to pass the water! That's against the rules!"

The creature stopped, seemingly confused. Then it bent over and emitted even more horrifying sounds. The creature was _laughing_.

"You cannot change your fate," it said with a terrible dark voice. "That's the only rule that counts."

"That's not true! A game should be won by the hero, not by the bad guy. And if you give up your only weakness, the game becomes useless. You will _all_ disappear."

"Who says the prince is the hero?" The Dahaka loomed closer, amused with the tiny human facing him.

"_I_ do!"

The Dahaka stumbled back in surprise, shrieking as if I had struck him with one of the blades. I realized what I was doing and decided to go with the idea.

"And since I'm the one who's actually _playing _this game, you are under my command! When I say the prince is to survive, you obey, you insolent _dog!_"

The Dahaka backed away, still shrieking like a wounded animal.

The prince slowly regained his consciousness. He saw me stand between him and the Dahaka, his swords in my hands. The Dahaka retreated even more.

"Now be gone!"

The prince couldn't believe his eyes when he watched the Dahaka disintegrate.

"What the… How did you do that?" he groaned, trying to sit up.

I turned around and kneeled down next to him. "Don't move," I warned him. "You're hurt."

"I'll live," he said with a great sense of irony. "Where's Kaileena?"

I hung my head in defeat. "I'm sorry, prince. She didn't make it."

He closed his eyes, trying to hide his tears from me.

"That damn thing broke the rules and passed the water," I added. "She never saw it coming."

"I should have stopped it," he choked out.

"You couldn't have. I was surprised I could."

We sat in silence for long moments, contemplating our loss. Kaileena would never return to the Island of Time.


	4. The Ubisoft Conspiracy

_**Chapter 4 – The Ubisoft Conspiracy**_

"So now what are we going to do?" I broke the silence, getting sick and tired of just sitting here.

"I don't know," he admitted. He sounded exhausted. "I'm running out of ideas."

"It's very simple: do you still want to get out of here?" I looked at him questioningly.

"Of course I do. But without Kaileena's help it's virtually impossible."

"Tell me what needs to be done. As long as I'm here, I might as well help you."

He looked surprised.

"You're here against your will and now you offer to _help_ me?"

"Do I have any other options? I hate to see you so depressed, you should be all hero-like and kick some monster butts while thinking of a way out of here."

He smiled weakly.

"I'm not a hero."

"Well, the human world thinks you are. So get up and let's get going."

I offered him a hand to get up. He got up painfully, the Dahaka really hurt him.

"I'm sure you remember the original game storyline," he said, ignoring his injuries.

I nodded and summarized it for him.

"Your mission was to stop the Sands from being created. In order to do that, you had to activate the two towers, so that the door to Kaileena's throne room would open. You kill her in the past, but the Dahaka doesn't disappear like it was supposed to. Then you read about the mask of the Wraith, which can give you a second chance… You become the Wraith in order to stop yourself from killing Kaileena and creating the Sands. I'm still confused about your theory to kill her in the present though."

"It never worked. To really end the game would mean no one would be able to play it again. So the game creators looped the story. You see the credit list, but in our world, the whole quest starts all over again."

"You mean… Ubisoft knows about your world and keeps you here on purpose?" My mouth fell open.

"They do."

"But that's… inhuman!"

"I never said they were _human_."

We reached the saving point at the time portal and the prince nursed himself back to full strength with the magic water. We went back into the Gardens after that.

"So you think Ubisoft is controlling the Dahaka? It serves their purpose to keep you here."

"It didn't serve their purpose to put an end to the character of Kaileena though," the prince thought out loud.

"You speak of her as if she's just a… thing," I said.

"She consists merely of computerized features. Ubisoft created her, she fits into the story. I tried to convince her that we had to escape, but I think the main reason she finally listened to me was because she was _programmed_ to do so."

"Ubisoft tried to get to you through her?"

"I guess. But I never trusted her."

"You cried when you learned about her death."

"I didn't. The program made me do that."

"Yuck. That's disgusting."

"They can make me do a lot of things as long as it fits the story or my so-called game character."

"That's even worse than being trapped in here! You're just a puppet on a string!"

He grinned slyly. "Not anymore. They think I still obey them, but I have ways to gain freedom. They don't know that yet."

"How?"

"Shahdee helped me to create new spaces inside this world, hidden from the creators. From there, I have limited powers to break through the boundaries of this world."

"Is that how you got me in here?"

"Yes."

"I'd still like to know what your plans with me are." I looked at him curiously.

"Do you really want me to tell you?"

"I'd rather hear the truth than live in uncertainty all the time."

"Kaileena's theory was that someone would have to take my place in this world. Only then I'd be able to get out of here."

"So in other words, you are going to do to me what they did to you?" I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Exactly." He turned around with a grim look on his face. "People like you are the incentive that drives companies like Ubisoft. Let's see how you like it here."

My face cringed in horror. "You can't do that to me… I have a husband waiting for me back home…"

"At least you have a husband," he said cynically. "And you're not _programmed_ to love him."

Despite the feelings of despair washing through me, my brains still functioned.

"I don't know that," I replied. "And frankly, I don't care."

"You would if you knew," he said in a determined manner.

I realized he was right. But would I be as cruel as the prince and put an innocent person in my place? Or would I carry my burden… indefinitely?

"I wouldn't. I'd accept my fate instead of hurting innocent people!"

"You're not innocent. You played the game." He looked at me with his cold eyes.

"But I never knew what I was doing to you while playing it! Goddamn it prince, I almost _worship_ you, I'd never do anything to hurt you!"

"Worship me? Don't be ridiculous. No one would be that childish."

I growled in the back of my throat. I hated it when people made fun of my obsessions and fantasies.

"I'll show you childish," I snarled and threw myself at the prince. I knocked him over and instinctively grabbed his throat.

"If you don't believe me, I'll _make_ you believe me, you son of a bitch!"

Of course, I was no match for the prince. He threw me off of him in a heartbeat, jumping to his feet gracefully.

"You'd never do anything to hurt me? Well, you really convinced me, woman." He touched his neck and cursed when he felt blood dripping from it. My nails had dug in pretty deeply, but hey, I was really pissed at him.

"I saved your life, you moron! Would I have done that if I meant you harm?" I got to my feet as well, facing him in anger.

"Interesting that you say that… You never explained to me _how_ you made the Dahaka disappear."

"I told him things it didn't want to hear. He broke the rules by passing the water. And since I'm a game player, I can decide whether you live or die. So I told him you were to survive."

"Am I supposed to believe that? You told him to go away and he did? The Dahaka's only purpose is to destroy me. There must be another reason it listened to you."

"You're paranoid, prince. There is no other reason."

"Isn't there? What if Ubisoft sent you here? What if Shahdee is in on this too and only helped me to create my own downfall again?" He approached me threateningly.

"If you're so determined on mistrusting me, prince, go ahead and kill me. I don't give a damn if you do. But you'll never get out of here if I die."

Considering his options, the prince stared at me. Chills ran down my spine as his crystal eyes burned into mine.


	5. Trust born out of Need

_**Chapter 5 – Trust born out of Need**_

I was still trembling with held back anger and frustration, when the prince made a dismissive gesture.

"I don't have a choice. I'll have to trust you," he said grimly.

"Thanks for your confidence," I said sarcastically.

The prince whirled around at a sound behind him.

"Take cover," he hissed. Sand creatures were appearing out of nowhere and I quickly climbed to a safe hiding place. Up there, I found a sword lying on the ground.

"About time I found some decent weaponry," I muttered. Watching the prince fight, I soon discovered he was losing to the vast number of monsters attacking him. Something strange took over my mind and clouded my senses. Before I knew what I was doing, I was leaping down towards the monsters and rescued the prince from an attack from behind.

"What's the problem, prince, out of practice?"

He did a wall run, killing two enemies in the process.

"I get enough 'practice' in here, woman. There shouldn't be this many opponents at this point."

"Guess Ubisoft is adapting to my presence then."

The prince looked at me briefly before attacking another monster.

"Could be…" he said, considering the possibility.

I decimated another opponent, catching his weapon with my left hand. With fluid motions I dealt with the last five enemies. The prince looked at me in amazement.

"You fight ridiculously well for a woman," he commented.

"Hey, I'm a game player. All I do is copy your moves and predict theirs. I guess it works."

I put away my weapons. "We need to find you some water."

The prince was hurt pretty badly again and even though he was a self-centered bastard, I felt sorry for him. I understood how he had become the man he was now; with no future at all, and everyone abusing you for purposes of entertainment, one tends to become a little self-centered and paranoid.

"I'm fine," he said, not wanting to accept my pity.

I shrugged. "In that case, lead the way."

While making our way through the Gardens, I noticed that I was given the same movement tutorial as the prince. Step by step, I got better at running along walls, jumping and motion sequences. To be honest, it was a lot of fun. If I had no obligations in my own world, like my husband and family, I'd stay here in a heartbeat. Maybe that was the reason why I was brought here. I was obsessed with this game and could play it for hours on end. And yes, I did worship the prince. Who wouldn't?

My attention shifted to the prince again when I heard him groan. He had been a fool not to seek water and collapsed to the ground.

"Moron," I muttered, crouching down next to him. He was unconscious and his breathing was ragged.

I only had one option; leave him here and search for water. I vaguely remembered there was water nearby. I could only hope the prince would be okay on his own for a while.

I ran towards the overgrown rocks and started to climb up. After a lot of balancing, pole-swinging and jumping I reached a platform and immediately drew my swords. I remembered there would be several pirates and ninjas here…

I got hit in the back of my head and fell down. When I looked up, I was already surrounded by at least four enemies. Getting up swiftly, I swung my swords around, hitting and stinging everything I could. Then I ran to the wall and pushed away, knocking two pirates over. I finished one of them, the other got up and I blocked his attack. Whirling around with one of the prince's special combos, I wiped out the other opponents. I hadn't even caught my breath when the ninjas appeared out of nowhere.

I cursed myself when I found out they moved way too fast for me to hit them. I should have taken the prince's weapons so I could slow down time… I got hit repeatedly and my vision got blurry. Instinctively I knew I was almost out of health. And my God it hurt. I collapsed to the ground, unable to move another inch.

Seemingly from far away, I heard the prince's voice say: "Do you have any idea what death feels like, woman? And not just once, but over and over again?"

I was about to experience it. Darkness took over when I lost consciousness.


	6. Unexpected Visitor

_**Chapter 6 – Unexpected Visitor**_

I woke up because someone was splashing cold water into my face. My back rested against a strong arm, holding me up in a halfway sitting position. I blinked away the water and looked into the prince's eyes… Or so I thought. This face was years younger than the prince's… But it was him! The prince of the Sands of Time! How the hell did _he_ get here?

"That was close," he said to me, carefully hoisting me up. "Drink, you'll feel better."

I healed myself at the fountain, relieved that I didn't die at the hands of the ninjas.

"You saved my life…" I said to him. "Thanks."

"You were outnumbered by four!" he laughed. "I couldn't just stand there and watch, could I?"

I filled a jar with water from the fountain.

"I need to get going. There's someone else in need of saving," I said apologetically.

"I'll go with you, I can't let you wander around here alone," he offered. "Those monsters are ferocious, they're very different from the sand creatures I know."

"I know," I said.

"What do you mean? Do you know how I got here?" He looked at me in surprise.

"I think I do, but I have no idea _why_ you're here. Must be another Ubisoft joke."

"What's Ubisoft?"

I looked at him stunned. "You don't know about Ubisoft?"

"No."

"You are completely unaware of the fact that you're a game character instead of a real person?"

"A game character? That's ridiculous! I'm the prince of Persia!"

"Oh boy. This is going to take a long time to explain," I sighed. "Follow me, prince, I think I know someone who can explain this to you."

We made our way down without further interruptions. The Warrior Within prince was still lying on the floor where I left him. I motioned to the Sands of Time prince to support his back while I let him drink the water.

He opened his eyes and looked at me almost gratefully. When he realized I wasn't alone, he whirled around and faced his younger self.

"Oh, this is just _great!_ How the hell did this happen?" he cried angrily.

"Prince, calm down. He doesn't even know about Ubisoft and he probably doesn't have a clue who you are either," I whispered.

The older prince took a deep breath and relaxed a little.

"I didn't even know there were two games," he sighed. "But since he's younger than me, I guess his story happened earlier?"

"It did. It's called the Sands of Time."

"You must be joking," the younger prince interrupted. "Are you saying that my world isn't _real?_"

"It's not," the older prince and I said in unison. "It's a game used to entertain people of my world," I added. "I have to apologize to you as well. While playing, I let you die many times because of my stupidity."

The young prince shrugged. "You didn't know I could actually feel pain, did you?" he asked.

"I didn't."

"You're forgiven."

The older prince looked at the younger one, totally baffled. I grinned at him and whispered: "See? You used to be cute…"

He growled in response. "Very funny. Now what?"

"You're asking me for advice? Gee, let me think… That secret passage you use to gain your so-called freedom must have gone rampant. His game," I pointed to the younger prince, "is also on that computer. I guess that's how he got here."

"What else is on that computer?" the prince asked.

"Tons of stuff. If this goes on, we might just meet some WWII soldiers from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault in a minute. We'd best get to that secret passage and try to escape before this world goes totally crazy."

"All of us?" The prince seemed to hesitate.

"Yes, all of us. The idea of me staying here to allow you to escape is ridiculous. I have my own life out there. Hell, they might be looking for me right now. I don't think they figure out what happened though, it's too bizarre."

The older prince turned to his younger self.

"I guess you want to get out of here as well?"

"Of course. I don't belong here. I don't care if my world is only a game, it's my world and I long to return to it. I'd never _force_ anyone to help me," he said sharply.

The older prince narrowed his eyes. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about, kid, so shut up."

The young prince shrugged. "Whatever."

"Could we get going? The Dahaka may have disappeared, but I don't know if it's gone for good."

"What is a Dahaka?" the young prince asked, totally oblivious.

"I'll fill you in on this world's details," I promised. We started to climb the rocks once again.


	7. Headache

_**Chapter 7 – Headache**_

The young prince and I talked a lot on our way up. After telling him about this world, I had to ask him: "What happened to Farah in your world? Did the two of you get married in the end or what?"

"We didn't. Or at least I think we didn't." He seemed confused.

"You think you didn't marry her?" I looked at him, equally confused.

"To be honest, I can't remember."

"Hah!" The older prince interrupted. "So that's why he is so oblivious about everything! When they reset the game, they reset his memory. They left that feature out in my version of Prince of Persia. Now I understand why he is so forgiving. He only dies a couple of times during the game and then forgets all about it."

"That's cruel," I whispered. "I don't know what's worse, actually. Knowing you're a prisoner in your own fake world or forgetting everything all the time."

"Well, if knowing makes me become like him," the young prince said, "I'd rather not know at all."

"Oh, shut up. You will become like me. There's nothing you can do about it. Ubisoft created us."

"I don't care. A battle is only worth fighting if you believe you can change things. Tell me, why are you trying to escape when you are so convinced that you can't change anything?"

"We can change things. I'm just trying not to underestimate Ubisoft. You'll understand once you've come face to face with the Dahaka."

A familiar sound hit my ears. In front of us appeared a dark figure.

"Let me handle this," the older prince said and attacked the creature with fluid motions. It disintegrated soon.

"What was that?" the young prince wanted to know.

"The Raven Lord. If you know how to beat him, he's a sissy."

I chuckled. "I agree."

"Just leap over him and chop away," the prince said with a sadistic grin.

"You sound like you _like_ beating the crap out of those creatures," the young prince said disapprovingly.

"Why not? They're only computerized monsters, they don't even have characters, you can only tell them apart by the way they look and their fighting skills. It's my job to kill them, so I do. And because I started to _like_ hurting them, I gained a little freedom from the shackles Ubisoft put me in."

"How so?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to have other feelings than my programmed ones," he replied. "So the more emotions I experience, the harder I fight Ubisoft."

"That's an interesting way to explain your bloodthirst," the young prince said.

"Ugh! Shut up, boy, before my 'bloodthirst' decides to turn against you."

"You can't kill me. It would 'undo' you," the young prince said slyly.

The older prince halted for a moment.

"Damn, it actually has a brain," he said sarcastically. "You might be right about that."

"Could you stop fighting for a split second?" Their bickering was starting to give me a headache. The princes shot each other death glares and then continued on their way.

The colors of our environment suddenly changed. The prince and I looked at each other, knowing what was coming.

"_Run!_"

The Dahaka appeared, more terrifying than ever. It was breaking everything in its path and its mission was to destroy the three of us. Something in its appearance convinced me that I wouldn't be able to talk to it any more and make it go away.

Ubisoft changed it, made it stronger.

"Any… ideas… prince?" I choked out, running as fast as I could.

"Follow me," he replied, his voice strained with fear. "_Don't_ fall behind."

The young prince and I tried as hard as we could to keep up with the other prince. We entered a part of the map I had never seen before and ended up in a room with only one entrance.

"We're trapped! What have you done?" the young prince cried desperately. Behind us, the tentacles of the Dahaka were already reaching for us.

The older prince didn't answer the question and unceremoniously pushed us into a deep hole in the ground.

We seemed to fall forever and I knew we were going to die. There was no way we could survive a fall this deep. Then the falling sensation abruptly stopped. I opened my eyes and slowly recognized our surroundings. I didn't have time to process the new information though. Sand creatures were already lined up for us, ready to kill.


	8. Back to the Source

_**Chapter 8 – Back to the Source**_

The two princes were coming to as well, and I decided to join the fight. After all, my fighting skills were nothing to be ashamed of.

While attacking and blocking cave trolls, I noticed we were in the dungeons. One of my personal favorites. It was weird though; why would the black hole in Warrior Within lead us here, to the prison in the Sands of Time? It made no sense at all. And the most important question of all was: would the Dahaka still be able to follow us here, or would we be facing other dangerous threats soon?

I also noticed that the amount of enemies had tripled. They just kept on coming! It wasn't a problem though, since I already knew how to beat them and the older prince was a fast learner.

We sat in silence for a few moments after ending the battle, trying to catch our breath.

"Women with swords… It's completely ridiculous," the young prince shook his head in disbelief. "I'll accept it since I know you're a game player, but it doesn't suit you at all."

I laughed out loud. "You hypocrite! Farah used to fight beside you!"

"Against my will. Stubborn woman."

The other prince chuckled. "As long as she's on our side, I don't care what she uses for a weapon."

The young prince made a 'hmph' sound and turned his back on the other prince.

"Let's talk business, guys," I said, pointing to the young prince. "We're in his world now. I haven't got a clue why we ended up here, but it's obvious Ubisoft already knows about our presence here. The number of enemies tripled. So I think we can assume the Dahaka or something equal to it can follow us here."

"Great. We've escaped, but we're still trapped." The older prince sighed in frustration.

"What if… we have to go back to forward?" the young prince suggested cryptically.

"Enlighten us, brother," his older counterpart teased. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Is my game the first Prince of Persia game?" the young prince asked me.

"Yes and no. Broderbund software made two earlier versions, but Ubisoft took over and never spoke of the first two versions again. They were two-dimensional, but very much fun too." I shut up as soon as I thought back to the guillotine-like traps in PoP part I and II. Ouch.

"So there are two more princes?" The older prince rolled his eyes in irritation.

"I don't think so," I said. "The software wasn't advanced enough yet to make them… like you. You can _think_."

"I have my moments," the older prince said sarcastically.

"But can we go back there?" the young prince asked.

"Not a chance," I said before the other prince could even open his mouth to speak.

"The software would immediately crash if you enter earlier versions of the game. You are way too advanced. It's good that Ubisoft uses the same engine for the Sands of Time and Warrior Within. If they had changed major features, _you_ would be dead now." I nudged my head toward the older prince. "You wouldn't be able to exist here."

"Neither would you," he retorted.

"I'm not sure about that. I am what you call an anomaly. I shouldn't be here at all. Maybe some rules do not apply to me."

"Such as?" the young prince asked curiously.

"I haven't got a clue. Hey, I'm only guessing. I don't get sucked into alternate worlds every day, you know."

"You were still explaining the 'going back in order to go forward' thing," the older prince got back to the point.

"Maybe we have to play the game till the end to start over again. During the end credits, we might have a chance to escape."

"You'll lose your memory again," I said.

"I don't care. I'll be glad to forget all about that Dahaka creature. Now, shall we go?"

"Lead the way."

We followed the young prince as he opened the door. Giant swords were up ahead, happily doing their task and prepared to chop off all heads of unfortunate passers-by.

"Goody. It'll get crowded in this corridor if we all run together," I said.

"I'll open the door, you start running as soon as I press the button," the young prince said. "Don't forget to duck in time."

"Thanks for the advice," the older prince said.

"Knock it off," I said. "You go ahead."

The young prince waited a moment, carefully timing his movements in his mind.

As soon as he bounced back from the button, the older prince and I started to run towards the door as well.


	9. New Found Solutions

_**Chapter 9 – New Found Solutions **_

We emerged from under the closing door.

"It's a good thing we appeared in this world inside the prison. We already completed 80 of the game," I said, trying to make the best of it.

"Yeah, the Dahaka won't catch us, we've got all the time in the world," the older prince said sarcastically.

"Will you drop the sarcasm act?" I said, getting very annoyed with the prince's behavior. "I know the whole situation stinks, but those comments of yours aren't really helping."

He shrugged, but at least he kept his mouth shut.

"She's right," the young prince said. "All we can do is try to stay alive as long as possible. The Dahaka may be invincible, but as long as we have our legs, we can run."

The older prince remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at me briefly. He walked off, but he didn't get far. He collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

"What's happening to him?" I cried.

The young prince and I watched as the older prince's body contracted violently.

"Looks like a life bonus," I analyzed, trying to squash my own fear. "But that's impossible in here, this isn't his world…"

The prince levitated up into the air, a bright light emitting from his body. In front of us, a Matrix-like corridor appeared. The walls consisted of green code transcripts.

"It seems to be a secret passage," the young prince said. "How did he do that?"

"And what's more important, is he alright?" I kneeled down beside the older prince, who was still slightly trembling. His eyes were staring into the distance, not seeing anything. I nudged his shoulder, but he didn't snap out of it.

"I guess you're going to have to carry him," I said to the young prince. "We can't leave him here."

"I could, but you seem to be very fond of him," the young prince said with a hint of his future sarcasm. He hoisted the motionless body of his older self onto his shoulder.

"Remind me to lose some weight in the future," he groaned.

Side by side, we entered the weird-looking corridor.

"I'm not even sure if we should be going through here," I said hesitantly. "It might as well be a trap."

"From him? Why would he try to trap us?"

"He wouldn't be doing it intentionally, this change of environment might be influenced by Ubisoft. Don't forget, Ubisoft owns you. Whatever they want, you'll do it, even without realizing it."

The young prince 'hmph'ed again. "If only we could fight them in a fair battle. This running and hiding is beginning to get very annoying."

"And I really want to get the hell out of this computer world. Somewhere out there, my life is still on hold until I return," I said, a lump rising in my throat.

"Tell me about your life," the young prince said. "I'd like to know what it is that I'm missing while I live in this world instead of in the real one."

"I wouldn't be so sure about my world being real. After I've been thrown into this world, I've been thinking. What if my world is a computer simulation too, just like they suggested in the movie 'The Matrix'?"

"You'll have to explain that one to me, I have no idea what you're talking about."

While walking, I told the prince about the Matrix theory and about my life in the so-called 'real' world.

I was interrupted by a half-conscious groan from the older prince.

"He's waking up, put him down!" The young prince obeyed and lowered his older self to the ground.

"What the hell happened?" the older prince asked.

"You somehow opened a secret passage," I said, gesturing to the weird environment we were currently in.

"And you just decided to walk in, without knowing what's up ahead?" he asked, pretty pissed off.

"As if we can tell what's up ahead in this manipulated computer world," I retorted. "For all I care this is our way out of here."

He thought about it, then nodded. "It might be. But how did I manage to open it?"

"You said you were sorry," the young prince said. "Maybe you should do that more often." He earned himself a death glare by saying that.

"I did something out of character…" he thought out loud. "That's it! When I act out of character, I override Ubisoft's rules!"

"That sounds plausible," I said. "So, you're going to behave now?"

The prince bit back a sarcastic comment. "Whatever it takes to get out of here."


	10. No Happy Endings

_**Chapter 10 – No Happy Endings…**_

"Is this corridor even leading to something?" I asked impatiently. It seemed we had been walking here for ages now, and we still didn't reach the end.

"We can only find out when we keep walking," the young prince reassured me. "Nothing lasts forever."

"How can you stay calm in here? I thought you were claustrophobic!"

"It doesn't bother me in here."

"Well, this place is giving me a headache," I growled. "I wish it ended right here and right now!"

We heard a noise up ahead. The green code transcripts became a lifeless color as we realized the Dahaka had found us in here.

"Great, now what do we do?" I asked to no one in particular.

"We run," the older prince decided, dragging me along. The young prince lingered however, staring at the approaching Dahaka.

"What the hell are you doing? _Run,_ you idiot!" We stopped and turned, only in time to see the young prince being devoured by the Dahaka.

The older prince froze beside me, but the death of his younger self didn't cause him to disappear. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him along for a change, trying to figure out where we were right now. Still in the Sands of Time, according to the graphics. But not in a part that was in the game.

The prince took the lead as soon as he noticed I slowed down. We ran over a stone bridge that started to crumble and break underneath us. The prince and I looked at each other briefly, knowing the bridge was going to fall apart every second.

"This is our chance," he choked out in between ragged breaths. "_Jump!_"

I jumped as high and far as I could. The bridge disappeared into the dark depths of the chasm below.

"Unh!" My body collided with the edge of the rocks in a not so gentle fashion. I immediately felt how my hands were slipping; I couldn't hang on. Before I fully realized I was going to fall, a strong hand grabbed mine, saving me from certain death. I looked up to the prince, despair in my eyes. He was hanging on to the rocks with only one hand, holding on to me with the other.

"Don't let go… Please…" I begged.

"Don't be ridiculous, woman. I won't save your life just to let you fall now, would I? Pull yourself up."

Trembling, my heart still racing, I pulled myself up. It seemed to take forever before I got up there completely. I turned around to help the prince, but he had already hoisted himself up. He flopped down on the ground, staring into the darkness behind us.

"Damn that kid… Why didn't he move?" he thought out loud.

I started to sob violently. "It's… only… a matter… of time… We're going… to… die!"

The prince looked at me, half annoyed by my tears, half concerned.

"Crying isn't going to get you anywhere, woman."

"If you've… got a… better idea… I'm… all… ears…"

"We need to find a safe place to rest and think about our options. Or are you planning on waiting for the Dahaka to come and get you?"

I stopped crying, realizing that he was right. We had no time to just hang around and act like sissies. We needed to move on.

The prince offered me a hand and helped me up.

"You really liked him, didn't you?" he asked bluntly.

I looked at him surprised.

"I did…"

"We'll get Ubisoft for doing this to him… and to us."

The prince sounded determined, but my mind was clouded with doubt. My attention was caught by a cracked wall though and I stopped.


	11. Dreams

**_Chapter 11 – Dreams_**

"What is it?" The prince already reached for his sword, expecting the worst.

"No enemies," I reassured him. "But there might be a safe place right behind this wall. Do you think you can break it?"

"Sure." The prince used his sword to break through the wall. Behind it was a corridor, decorated with transparent drapes.

"Just what I hoped it would be," I said softly. "A life bonus."

The prince grimaced. In his world, life bonuses were obtained only after sustaining serious damage caused by the booby-trapped corridors one had to go through.

"Relax," I said. "No traps here."

The prince sighed in relief.

"And enemies can't reach this place for as far as I know. Follow me."

I ran through the corridor, feeling perfectly safe. The prince followed, still not at ease with this new situation. The light faded and we stood still in complete darkness.

"I knew this was a trap," the prince growled. I heard him draw his swords.

"You're wrong. It's all part of the life bonus protocol. You'll see. Put away your swords before you poke one of my eyes out with them."

Very slowly, the light returned and we found ourselves in a whole new world. Hanging bridges were leading towards the magic fountain. This world seemed very peaceful compared to the ones we had just experienced.

"I believe you now," the prince said, sheathing his swords. "This place feels safe."

"I told you." I sat down on the grass-covered rock, goose bumps appearing on my arms and legs.

"It's cold… I always assumed it would be warm in here."

"Cold light, cold environment. One of the first rules of our world. This is supposed to be a night-time environment, but the cold doesn't bother me at all."

"Hah! Try wearing a skirt in here."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he teased.

I remained silent for a moment, surprised by his cheerfulness. He really felt safe here…

"No, seriously. Can't you get a fire going or something?" I looked at him expectantly.

"Impossible. I'm not programmed to do that."

"I thought you wanted to fight Ubisoft?"

"I do, but I'm not a magician," he said, irritated by my persistence. "Trust me, you won't die from being cold in here."

I closed my eyes and checked my health. I came to the conclusion that he was right.

"Damn you. I showed you a safe place to hide and you're thanking me by saying I won't die from being cold? Great."

"I could have told you to go run around in circles in order to get warm," he said, unimpressed by my indignation.

"Jerk."

I pulled up my knees and wrapped my arms around them, trying to stay warm.

"Your younger version would have done something about my discomfort," I said reproachful.

"Yeah, and he would probably kill himself in the process," the prince growled annoyed. He didn't like to be compared to his younger self. He sighed, then looked at me and said: "I know a way for you to get warm, but I don't think you'd approve."

I looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at. My eyes grew wide when it dawned on me.

"If you're implying what I think you're implying, prince, forget it! Do you hear me? _In your dreams!_ I'm a married woman!"

"Not in this world. And I thought you _worshipped_ me?"

I got up and backed away from him. The bastard saw right through me… He knew that I wanted him all along …

"Your silence says it all," he said. "Do you think I'm blind? I still don't know what  role you play in my story, but I know damn well what you're after."

I didn't even see him move, but suddenly he was right in front of me, grabbing my wrists and pinning me against the rocks. Tears of humiliation fell from my eyes, causing him to chuckle.

"The only reason you're crying is that I saw through you, woman. Lighten up; you may have lost the fight, but you've still won the war."

I looked at him angrily, only to meet his cold eyes. I couldn't prevent myself from drowning in them…

I felt his hot breath on my ear as he whispered: "Admit it. This is exactly the way you want it to be."

"It is…" I grabbed the back of his neck, fisting my hand in his hair and pulled him closer. We kissed each other with fire, eagerly starting to undress ourselves.

I gasped for air when my skirt was yanked away and his fingers entered me. My head fell back and incoherent sounds emerged from my throat as the prince's mouth worked its way over my neck and ear.

Suddenly, he slowed down and then stopped. I opened my eyes and looked at him, my breathing ragged.

"You _are_ an animal," I choked out, my chest heaving for air.

"Only because you expected me to be," he retorted. "I never figured you'd want to be submissive during sex."

I slipped my hands under his armor and took it off.

"From time to time, I like to be," I smiled. "By the gods, those scars look really good on you."

I kissed him again, then allowed my tongue and lips to wander lower, exploring the muscled chest of the prince. I kneeled down in front of him, undoing his pants. I heard him gasp for air as I took him into my mouth. One of his hands grabbed the back of my head, the other rested on the rocks, supporting him.

I looked up briefly to marvel at the prince's beauty when he was off guard. His eyes were closed, his face was grimacing in pleasure. His body was trembling with every thrust I allowed him to make.

'Now who's the submissive one?' I thought, smiling inside.

As if he had heard my thoughts, he opened his eyes and pushed me down to the ground. His fingers intertwined with mine when he entered me.

"Unh!" Tears welled up in my closed eyes, caused solely by physical pleasure. As soon as I opened them, the prince kissed me fiercely. My body began to tense underneath him, approaching completion rapidly. The prince started sucking on my neck once more, his teeth grazing my skin.

"Harder…" I begged. He bit the nape of my neck, instantly sending me over the edge.

He increased his pace, soon contracting into an orgasm as well. He kept himself up to prevent me from getting crushed, resting his weight on his elbows. He looked at me with his predator-like cold eyes, then slowly shook his head, smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"I never knew I could do _that_," he said, laughing out loud now. "Those guys at Ubisoft must be real perverts…"

I chuckled. He rolled off of me and settled down beside me, pulling me close.

I didn't feel cold anymore.


	12. Rude Awakening

**_Chapter 12 – Rude Awakening_**

I woke up because I was freezing. When I didn't feel the prince lying beside me, I sat up and looked around. The prince was gone.

"God damn it!" I cursed.

'I'm going to have to explain to him that he isn't supposed to ditch me the minute he was done with me…' I thought, feeling used. I searched the place, looking for clues. Whatever happened, the prince had left willingly. Nothing indicated that there had been a fight in here. There was no way I would have slept through that anyway.

'But why? Why would he just leave me here? Simply because he didn't trust me?'

For a moment, I didn't know what to do next. Move on and try to finish the game on my own? Or go out and search for the prince? He might be in trouble, the stubborn bastard…

At least I still had my weapons. I decided to drink from the fountain and then move on. If I'd encounter the prince on my way, I'd ask for some explanations.

When I entered the original corridor, the broken wall closed behind me.

"Shit," I said. I forgot about that. I'd never be able to break through another wall; I needed the prince's weapon to be able to do that.

I proceeded, and suddenly recognized the environment.

"Oh no…" This was the sequence right before the prince and Farah entered the tower of Dawn. There'd be countless monsters there and I would be trapped, forced to fight to the death. I needed to think this through or I'd be dead real soon.

'I might as well try the acting out of character thing. Maybe I'll gain some power over the environment.'

But how could I act out of character? Crying wouldn't help; I did that pretty often. Saying I was sorry about something wasn't going to do the trick either. Then what? Trying to make the best of it instead of worrying so much? That could work, but I couldn't convince myself to be that optimistic. The outcome of this whole nightmare was very uncertain.

I closed my eyes and focused at the task at hand. What if I'd just rush in there and play the hero? Wouldn't that be out of character? Normally, I'd never even consider fighting monsters for real. Behind the mouse and keyboard, fine, but here and now? Never.

'That's it then,' I thought, opening my eyes. 'I'll give 'em hell.'

I entered the tower and heard the fence come up behind me. The platform whooshed upward. For once in my life, I turned off all voices of doubt and doom inside my mind. I was going to succeed, because I had to. Failure was not an option. I had no sand, no time-rewinding powers or whatsoever… I needed to finish them all off in one go.

"Come for me, then," I growled, quoting the prince from Warrior Within.

The waiting seemed to take forever.

'Did it really take this long for the stupid creatures to appear?' I thought to myself.

At that very moment, five cave trolls appeared out of nowhere. I ran towards them and the world became a red haze.

Cornered. The one thing I should have avoided during the fight, but it was impossible. Four sand creatures were surrounding me, taking their turns in attacking me. I was forced to keep blocking their double-bladed lances, I couldn't escape them. My health was virtually non-existent. My arm was getting numb. The platform was slowing down; it had almost reached the end of its journey up.

"Somebody help me _please!_" I cried desperately. My arm refused to hold up the sword any longer. I blacked out when I heard it clatter to the ground. All I could see was the guard on the left, whirling around, ready to dismember me.

He froze in the middle of his attack. I blinked, trying to see straight. I could only see my enemies; the one attacking them was nothing more than a shadow. I sighed, giving in to my fatigue.

The world went completely black.

"… exactly what you did to her, you savage! Prepare to be punished!"

"Hah! She wanted me and submitted to me willingly. You can ask her when she wakes up!"

"I don't need to ask her, I saw the whole thing. You raped her!" The young prince drew his weapons.

The older prince narrowed his eyes and answered: "I didn't. She wanted it rough. And you know what? I think you're just jealous."

The young prince attacked his older counterpart furiously, determined to kill him.


	13. Handicap

**_Chapter 13 – Handicap_**

"No…" I groaned, barely audible. I tried to sit up, but my body felt as if it had been crushed and grinded. Every inch of me hurt, but I had to stop the two princes from killing each other.

"Unnhhh…" Grabbing hold of anything that could support my weight, I hoisted myself up painfully. I crippled towards the two fighting princes, stretching out my hand.

"Stop it…" I wheezed. The older prince caught sight of me from the corner of his eyes, struggling to keep the young prince's dagger away from his throat. He managed to kick his younger self away and turned to me.

"Drink," he said, handing me a bottle of water and immediately whirling around to block another ferocious attack. "Maybe you can talk some sense into him."

I finished the bottle of water in less than a second and stood in front of the fuming young prince.

"Stand down, prince. I don't know what you think you saw, but he never hurt me."

The young prince lowered his weapons in astonishment.

"You were screaming for help when he took you… You were struggling so hard that he had to hold you down with both arms! And now you tell me that he _didn't_ hurt you?"

I sighed. "Ubisoft is playing with your mind, prince. That's not what happened."

The older prince sheathed his weapons. "If you really thought I was raping her, why didn't you do anything?"

"I blacked out before I could move," the young prince admitted.

"I've got another question for you," I said. "How the hell did you survive the Dahaka?"

"I respawned."

"Makes sense," the older prince stated. "It's his game."

"And we're back at square one," I sighed. "Still trapped."

"Yes, but we've almost reached the hourglass. We can put our theory to the test… And if it doesn't work, _then_ we'll be back at square one." The young prince flashed me a hopeful smile, then looked at his older counterpart.

"I guess I owe you an apology."

"Save it. I would have done the same thing in your place."

The young prince put away his weapons and said: "Let's get going."

The hourglass was further away than we originally thought. The whole palace seemed to turn against us; the traps became edgier and seemed to have a mind of their own. Meanwhile, my computerized human body suffered greatly under the enormous amount of stress. I hadn't slept in days, not counting any unconscious or blacked out episodes.

The older prince wasn't adapting well to the new environment either; the Sands of Time was in fact trickier than Warrior Within. The fights were no problem, but the puzzles were getting too hard on the both of us.

When the young prince had to rewind time three times in order to get us out of a spike pit, he lost his patience.

"What the devil is wrong with you? You're not paying attention!"

I looked up at him. "Damn it prince, you're used to this. We're not. I can't keep this up, it's too hard. Whatever you may think, I'm still human. My body can't take the stress of being here any longer."

"Hmph. Well, you've got an excuse, what about him?" He pointed to the older prince.

"It's those damn time frames," his older self admitted. "In my world, you can walk right through the traps. In here, it's getting harder as we proceed. It's like this damn palace is _alive._"

"Ubisoft is trying to stop us, that means we must be on the right track to get out of here," the prince said, shedding new light onto matters.

"All the same, I can't keep up with you guys any more. Just leave me and finish the game," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. I cursed myself for being this weak, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"We're not leaving you here," the young prince said. "I carried his dead weight, carrying you will be a piece of cake compared to that."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll only slow you down and get you killed." I studied the ground, not having the heart to look up at them.

"We'll finish this thing together," the older prince said. My vision became blurry and his voice suddenly sounded as if he was standing miles away. I barely felt how the young prince hoisted me onto his shoulder. I went out like a candle.


	14. Out of Character

**_Chapter 14 – Out of character?_**

"You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"Me being jealous."

"Why? You had a female running around here, if I understood your story correctly."

"All I had was a cut scene _suggesting_ Farah and I were going to… you know."

"You mean you never actually did it?"

"No. Just that damn scene fading into nothing before anything could happen at all. _Over and over again._"

"I can imagine your frustration…"

"No you can't."

"Well, I can try to understand. Ubisoft made sure I got my share of Kaileena after finishing the Dahaka…"

"Lucky you. All because of the higher rating…"

"Hey, she was only a game character. Having so-called sex while the one who controls you from behind the keyboard is watching over your shoulder isn't all that, trust me."

"Those humans are total perverts. They can become completely _obsessed_ with us."

"Don't judge things you can't experience, bro. Humans are more complex emotionally."

"What about us? Do they think we can't _feel?_ That's preposterous! Even if we are programmed to be limited in our behavior, we have our own free will. If not, we wouldn't be here right now."

"True."

Silence.

The young prince glanced over his shoulder, studying his older self.

"You probably think that you caused this mess," he began hesitantly. "But you didn't."

The older prince stopped, looking surprised.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I… don't know if I can trust you."

"Of course you can _trust _me, we're the same person!" The older prince grabbed the young prince's vacant shoulder. "Tell me, what caused this?"

The young prince looked at him in fear.

"All you need to know is that it wasn't you," he whispered, casting his eyes down.

"Then who did this? _You?_"

The young prince froze, staring at something that appeared right behind the man standing in front of him.

"Get down!"

They hit the ground hard when a giant creature 'whooshed' over their heads.

"The griffin!" The prince recognized the ugly thing immediately. "How the hell did that happen?"

"No time for twenty questions, prince. How do we kill that thing?" The young prince had already freed himself of the woman's limp body and drew his weapons.

"No, stay with her. I'll take care of the griffin." The older prince ran off, leaving no room for arguing.

"Blasted idiot," the young prince hissed. Then he gasped in horror when he watched his older self being smacked into the bottomless ravine surrounding the platform he was on. In a reflex movement, he pressed the button on the Dagger of Time. A sharp pain hit the palm of his hand and he helplessly watched the sand pour out of the dagger. Time didn't rewind and the sands he collected were gone now.

"No…" He ran to the edge of the ravine, looking down frantically. He saw his older self struggle to hold on, barely conscious.

"Grab my hand!" he cried out, stretching out his arm as far as he could. The older prince took his hand, then he looked behind the young prince in shock.

"It's coming… Save yourself…"

"_No!_ We end this thing together!" The griffin pranced behind the young prince, ready to crush him with its giant claws.

"Hang on!" The young prince rolled to the right, taking his older self with him. When the paws of the griffin hit the ground, he yanked the older prince up.

"Don't you dare to die on me," he growled, hoisting the prince onto his shoulder and running towards the place where he left the woman.

With two unconscious bodies on his shoulders, he could barely stand, let alone fight. He couldn't outrun the griffin like this. He had no sand to slow down time.

He only had one card to play; act out of character. He needed the other prince to be awake however…

The older prince opened his eyes, recognizing his younger self bending over him.

"We've got no time to argue about this," the young prince said. "Kiss me."

The older prince opened his mouth to protest, only to feel the soft lips of his younger self brush against his. He was too weak to struggle, and at the back of his mind he realized he didn't _want_ to get out of this bizarre but pleasant situation. He pulled the young prince close and kissed him passionately.


	15. Secrets Revealed

**_Chapter 15 – Secrets revealed_**

I woke up slowly, blinking away the darkness. Images of the princes and the griffin flashed before my eyes, but there was no logic behind it. Did that really happen? Or was Ubisoft playing tricks on me?

"She's awake," I heard the young prince say.

"Finally."

"Where are we?" I asked groggily.

"In a safe place," the older prince assured me. "At least it's safe for us."

I slowly realized he was referring to himself and the young prince, excluding me.

"What do you mean?"

The young prince flashed me a sad smile.

"Game over, Pride. We know who caused all this."

My eyes went wide in shock when I heard him call me by my Fanfiction author's name. I didn't know what to say.

"I let the Dahaka catch me to escape from your attention. It worked, you were… busy… with the other prince. Meanwhile, I was accessing the network in your home world. And guess what I found on the Internet?"

"This story. Even as we speak, you're still writing it," the older prince said, pissed off like when I first met him.

"I'm… _writing_ right now? How could I? I'm here, I don't have access to my own computer!"

"Think multidimensional, Pride. It's like Sophie's world and the Neverending Story. You wrote the story, but you also play a part in it. You're the main character, but the story can only proceed when it is read by other people." The young prince was using knowledge I never knew he possessed.

"How do you know all this? When we first met, you didn't even know you were inside a computer game!" I looked at him in total astonishment.

He chuckled. "Pretend to be weak where you are strong. I acted like a total moron, though I was on to you even before you started writing. I decided to take matters into my own hands and contacted Shahdee. She helped me to create a portal between the Sands of Time and Warrior Within. By manipulating the prince from Warrior Within, I caused you to be dragged into his world and subsequently into mine."

"To what purpose?" I was getting dizzy trying to process all the new information.

"The same as ever. _To get the hell out of here._ I don't know what's worse, being controlled by you or by Ubisoft. You're both very twisted."

I shook my head. "If you were on to me _before _I started writing, you're the one who's in control, not me."

"I'm only playing my part in the story. I can't change major features, neither can he." He pointed to the older prince.

"So now what? How do I end this?" I asked sincerely. I had no idea what to do to get out of here, even if I was the author of this story.

"We were going to ask you the very same question," the older prince said.

I thought hard.

"You mentioned Sophie's world and the Neverending story. In Sophie's world, they made a mess to distract the author and escape from the main storyline. In the Neverending story, the human child who was reading the story had to give the Empress a new name." I shook my head again. "It doesn't make sense though. If I'd be writing the story, there'd be a giant monster in the end and we'd need to work together in order to defeat it."

"The Dahaka would fit that profile," the older prince said. "But instead of Ubisoft, you were the one controlling it all along. Just try and summon the bastard, we'll chop it up and get out of here."

"Are you sure?" I looked at him, doubt nagging in the back of my mind. "What if this whole plot is a smoke grenade from Ubisoft to confuse us? We're being royally screwed if that's the case."

"You're getting paranoid," the young prince stated. "Or worse, you're trying to double-cross us with your new theory. Summon the Dahaka and the water sword."

I looked at him even more stunned than before.

"Yes, I know everything," he answered my unspoken question. "In my case, you were right to worship me."

The older prince looked at his younger self a little annoyed, but then he shrugged. I heard him mutter: "I'd rather have sex with the body than with the brains…"

I could hardly contain my laughter. Then I looked at the two princes and said: "I'll try, but I have no clue whatsoever how to summon that thing."

"Give it your best shot," the older prince said. "The Dahaka and I still have some unfinished business."


	16. How to get a Headache

**_Chapter 16 – How to get a Headache_**

Hours had passed.

"Guys, it's not working. I don't know how to do it." I looked up at the impatient warriors.

"Great! Now that we actually _want_ that creature to show, it's nowhere to be found," the young prince complained.

"I say she's still trying to trick us," the older prince growled. "She did it before, why wouldn't she be able to summon him now?"

I had closed my eyes, thinking back to our encounters with the Dahaka. I suddenly understood what I had to do. I got up and let my body fall backwards. My head hit the ground hard.

"What are you doing?" the young prince asked, freaked out by my weird behavior.

"I need to get myself a headache. Every time I got a headache, the Dahaka showed up. I don't know another way to summon him."

"Does it hurt yet?" the young prince asked.

"I have a hard skull," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Allow me," the older prince said. Before I could reply, he hit the back of my head with the handle of his sword.

"OW!" That really hurt. My vision blacked out for a moment.

The young prince shot his older self a death glare.

"Go ahead, kill her. That's going to help."

"I'm… fine," I said, crawling to my feet. The older prince caught me just in time. I felt dizzy and my head really hurt this time.

"You really like hurting others, don't you?" I asked him, trying to see straight.

"You're the one to talk," he retorted. "You got me killed dozens of times."

"Yeah, and I feel less sorry for you every time you bring it up." I shook my head. "We're forgetting something. I may have summoned the Dahaka, but how the blazes are we going to get our hands on the water sword?"

The two princes looked at each other and then back at me.

The young prince frowned. "I guess it's your turn to act out of character."

"Great. Any ideas?" Silence. I had to come up with something fast, I didn't know how much time we had left. I had to do something _way_ out of character in order to make this work…

I slowed down time to be able to take the older prince's sword. I saw the eyes of the young prince look at me in shock as I whirled around and planted the sword into his chest. I had to restrain myself; I couldn't allow myself to feel remorse. If so, the water sword would not appear. I looked into the young prince's dying eyes, feeling only emptiness in my heart.

Seemingly far away, I heard the older prince scream. The young prince collapsed at my feet. Time regained its ordinary pace.

"What have you done?" The older prince had grabbed my shoulders and his iron grip made me snap out of my dream-like state.

"I killed him…" I whispered, not believing that I was actually capable of doing that. "It was the only way…"

I pointed to the new sword on the older prince's back. "You've got the Water Sword now."

The prince cursed. "So it's up to me to kill that damn creature? I could have used some backup!"

"The other prince's fate was to die at my hands, so you could obtain the Water Sword. It was the only way."

"That's not what I call 'working together' in order to defeat the Dahaka," the prince growled.

There was no time to argue as the color drained from our environment. The Dahaka was coming.

"I'll talk you through it," I said. "Watch out for those damn tentacles. The best way to beat him is to roll around him, hit him a few times, then continue to roll. You won't get hurt too badly."

"I can't wait," the prince said sarcastically.

"Try to throw him off this platform. When he's hanging from the edge, slow down time and use the Ravages of Time on him."

"I got it, I got it," he said, gesturing to me to take cover.

The Dahaka appeared out of nowhere and the platform started to shake violently. I was thrown off my feet and when I looked up, the Dahaka was towering over me…


	17. Finishing Business

**_Chapter 17 – Finishing Business_**

For the first time in my life, I screamed like a girl. I was struck with mind-shattering fear when the Dahaka's tentacles grabbed me and lifted me up into the air. Its terrifying voice hit my ears: "You cannot change your fate…"

"No, but I can," the prince shouted, cutting off the tentacles with his new sword. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I ran off to safety. Trying to catch my breath, I watched how the prince took on the Dahaka. He took my advice and followed the best strategy; if you can't block it, avoid it.

Even though the prince was giving his all, the Dahaka kept regenerating at incredible speed. The prince landed at my feet after one of the Dahaka's devastating blows.

"Is it… supposed to… regenerate?" he choked out.

"Even faster than the damn griffin," I answered grimly. "On your feet, prince. Get ready to finish the bastard." I extended my hands and fired an energy beam, copying the move of Kaileena. The Dahaka was knocked over and was hanging onto the platform.

"Go, prince, go!" I yelled.

Time slowed down. The prince unleashed his fierce attack on the Dahaka twice, but time was running short. I held my breath in fear when I saw the Dahaka hoist himself up and jump back onto the platform again. His health bar was increasing rapidly.

I cursed and jumped onto the platform, approaching the Dahaka from behind. The prince was hit repeatedly by the tentacles that came out of the ground and suffered some serious damage.

"Slow down time _now!_" I cried, almost touching the Dahaka's back. Time slowed down and I could avoid the tentacles with ease. Overriding the rules, I jumped onto the Dahaka's back and reached out my hand to the prince. He didn't need any further encouragement and threw the Water Sword at me. Still in slow motion, I caught the blade and rammed it into the Dahaka's neck, copying the finishing move the prince used on trolls.

The Dahaka shrieked in pain and collapsed. My body was trembling with the adrenaline rush when I retracted the blade from the remains of the monster. The prince was still lying on his back, bleeding from many wounds. He looked up at me, relief showing in his eyes.

"It's over," I said. I walked up to him and kneeled down. The prince sat up painfully and embraced me. Finally I could cry, finding comfort in the prince's strong arms. The feeling of safety didn't last long though when we heard running footsteps coming our way. I turned around, already lifting up the Water Sword to strike anything that would dare to come close to us.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the characteristic voice of the young prince said. "But if I am, serves you right. How could you just kill me like that? It _hurt,_ damn it. You'd better have a good explanation…"

The irate words of the young prince faded into nothing and the world went black.

When I woke up again, I realized I was in the magic cavern from the Sands of Time. But the weird thing was that I didn't feel like a game character anymore… I felt _human_ again. I turned around at a sound behind me. The young prince got out of the water and stood in front of me. Even though he wasn't armed, I backed away, afraid that he might be after revenge.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill you," he assured me. "I know you only did what you had to do to finish the game."

"This wasn't just a _game_," I said, almost angry with him. How could he say that, after all we had been through?

"Ah, so you noticed. You see, that's all I'm asking for: a human being who understands that my world can be just as real as yours."

"I get the point, prince. And to prove it, you brought us here?"

The prince shook his head, smiling at me. "You were the one who took us to the cave, not me."

I chuckled. "Makes sense. The least I can do is to give you a chance to finish business here with Farah. I overheard you guys talking before you faced the griffin… Must be very frustrating to get so close every time!"

"Terribly," he said, approaching me. "That's why I won't ask you to summon Farah."

"Say what?" I looked at him surprised.

"Stop acting like you didn't _know,_" he said. "You're still writing this story… I knew you'd never be satisfied until you got us both out of our clothes."

I blushed, feeling naked already.

"I hate it when you see right through me," I whispered. "Somehow, it's humiliating."

"All I do is confront you with your own desires," the prince whispered into my ear. Shivers went down my spine when I felt his warm breath on my neck.

"And to be honest, I'm flattered by them."

I felt our fingers intertwine and sighed. He was right. Choosing between two things was something I hardly ever did. It was the story of my life all over again; always getting into trouble over men.

"What about the other prince?" I asked, looking into the young prince's blue eyes.

"He's me. He won't object to this."

The prince's lips prevented any more protests from my side.


	18. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

I woke up in the real world, in a hospital to be exact. My husband was sitting next to my bed, looking exhausted. His face lit up when I opened my eyes.

"You're awake! Thank God… Please don't leave me again." He grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently.

"I… won't…" I said hoarsely. "I've… missed you…"

"I've missed you too, honey."

"What happened to me?"

"I found you in the computer room, you were unconscious. I called an ambulance and the paramedics brought us to the hospital. You've been in a coma for over a week."

"Over a week?" I gasped. "Jesus…"

"I'm so glad you're back," my husband said, hugging me tightly.

"So am I…" I replied, hugging him back. Meanwhile, my mind was racing: had my adventures with the princes been nothing but a dream?

The world became familiar again in the next few days. My family visited, my friends came by… And soon I was released from the hospital. My husband and I were going home.

I soon got hooked when the last part of the trilogy was released. I started playing The Two Thrones and didn't stop until I finished the game. I started over with the Sands of Time and was almost scared to death when I saved my game. I could've sworn I saw the young prince wink at me…

**Thankz**** for reading… Hope you enjoyed it!**


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